Dana
Age: 33
Location: Alvin, Texas
Addiction: Pain killers, crack
What’s memorable: This is one of those addict stories that begins entirely with a horrendously traumatic incident. It’s also one where no one really blames her for becoming addicted and wanting to numb out. Few of us could ever imagine the pain that losing 3 children at one time would cause. It’s simply unfathomable. The fact that she still has one child left is her saving grace.

Official Synopsis: Once a vibrant supermom, Dana numbs the haunting memories of almost dying in an apartment fire with a dangerous cocktail of crack and prescription pills.

Original Air Date: June 2013

Season 14, Episode 2

Mike
Age: 44
Location:  Goshen, Ohio
Addiction:  Heroin
What’s memorable: Snorting heroin (I haven’t seen that before), his constant lies and excuses, the way he treats his wife, leaving rehab early because withdrawal was uncomfortable. I really hope he has managed to stay sober since then, he was incredibly sick.

Official Synopsis: Mike lost his brother to cancer and his sister to suicide. This triggered a tragic downward spiral. Mike’s nightly habit of having a few beers quickly turned into raging alcoholism. Mike agreed to give up drinking. Unfortunately, he replaced alcohol with heroin.
Original Air Date: March 2015

Season 14, Episode 2

Lauren
Age: 35
Location: San Jose, California
Addiction:  Heroin
What’s memorable: Panhandling on the street to get money for gas to get to her daughter’s birthday party, then getting it and spending it on heroin instead and having to come up with $20 more dollars, all while the family waits for her to get there.  That was hard to watch. She looked happy and healthy at the end, so glad she and her boyfriend got and stayed clean.

Official Synopsis: At 14, Lauren was forced to become caretaker to her ill father. By 18, she was a mother herself. Seven years and three kids later, Lauren’s father died and she turned to pills to cope.
Original Air Date: March 2015

Season 14, Episode 4

Theresa
Age: 43
Location: Raceland, Louisiana
Addiction:  Alcohol
What’s memorable: She’s been an alcoholic for 25 years, suffers from cirrhosis, drinks beer from her bed all day long unless she goes to the one bar in town that hasn’t 86’d her yet. The argument with her daughter was hard to watch. I enjoyed her follow up with Candy – she seemed down to earth and realistic but grateful that her health was improving so much and committed to her sobriety.

Synopsis: Theresa swore she wouldn’t end up like her mother who was a raging alcoholic. However, years later after several failed relationships and children, Theresa finds herself drinking uncontrollably–to the point that even cirrhosis of the liver isn’t enough to make her stop. Her daughter says she’s at rock bottom, close to death, and her family knows that an intervention is their last hope.
Original Air Date: April 2015
Interventionist: Candy

Season 14, Episode5

Daniel
Age: 29
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Addiction:  Alcohol, some meth
What’s memorable: This kid had a rough life, no surprise he drinks too much. But wow does he drink too much. And the way he gets when he’s drunk: self-absorbed, messy, emotional, intimidating, dominant.  I’ve known a lot of people who get like this when they’re drunk and they’re incredibly difficult to be around if you’re not just as drunk as they are. Which brings us to his relationship with his girlfriend Sarrah. He says “I’d give up my whole family for Sarrah” but their connection is probably based more on a shared love of drinking than anything else. (I’ve been in several eerily similar drunken relationships. They were intense and unhealthy and entirely dependent on alcohol to survive. They never ended well).  I don’t recall if they show said she got sober too but I really hope so. I love what Daniel said after he accepted treatment: “How am I gonna turn all these people down? Everyone I love?”  Seems like that’s the reason why a lot of the addicts on this show accept the treatment. Intervention works, dammit!

Synopsis: Daniel could have pursued a career as a songwriter, but a series of personal tragedies culminating in his father’s death led him to abuse a dangerous combination of alcohol and meth. Recently Daneil resumed a romantic relationship with Sarrah, a fellow addict who supplies Daniel with alcohol, and their booze-fuled nights escalate his already serious addiciton to deadly lows.
Original Air Date: April 2015
Interventionist: Candy

Season 14, Episode 10

James
Age:
Location: Victoria, Texas
Addiction: Meth
What’s memorable:

Official Synopsis: When James first tried meth, he’d thought he’d found a wonder drug to give him the energy for a demanding job, marraige, and fatherhood. But the resulting addiction and sprial took all of those things away from him. Now his ex-wife is trying to save his life so their sons will have a chance to know their father.

Original Air Date: August 2015
Interventionist:  Candy

Season 14, Episode 10

Amanda
Age: 29
Location: Festus, Missouri
Addiction: Heroin
What’s memorable: “I want extreme numbness. I want to get as far away from myself as I possibly can.”

Official Synopsis: Amanda’s world was thrown into a tailspin when her husband went missing for months. When his body was finally found, the victim of a high profile murder, she went off the deep end and found escape in drugs. Now her children are in state custody and she’s shooting heroin to cope.

Original Air Date: August 2015
Interventionist: Ken

Season 14, Episode 14

Kayne
Age:  27
Location: Aberdeen, Ohio
Addiction: Heroin, Xanax

Official Synopsis: After his mother died, Kayne turned to drugs to cope, which eventually cost him his marriage and the custody of his children. This drove him further into his addition and now he spends each day getting high on a deadly combination of heroin and Xanax.

Original Air Date: August 2015
Interventionist: Jeff

Season 15, Episode 3

Kacy
Age: 39
Location: Garrison, North Dakota
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)

What’s Memorable: Given the dramatic spiral from success to rock bottom, non-functional alcoholism, it’s a shame the show didn’t spend a little more time on how Kacy got to this place she’s in now. The trauma she endured and how it affected it her deserved more than what felt like a mention in passing. Seemed like the producers were overly focused on the shock factor of how bad her addiction was. Anyway, a few things she said gave me chills. “I’m scared to death…of not having the next drink.” And when she’s walking home from the liquor store in her pajamas, talking about how just having the alcohol in the house calmed her down and made her feel like it was gonna be okay. Yeah. I can relate to that.  The followup was brutal, I wish there was more information given about what put her in the hospital.

Official Synopsis: A successful businesswoman who became a multimillionaire in her 20’s, Kacy tragically lost her infant child to SIDS. She then lost her fortune, her marriage and a healthy relationship with her surviving children as she spiralled into binge drinking. Now penniless, she is hospitalised multiple times a month, and her family is desperate to save her life.

Date Aired:  March 2016
Interventionist: Candy

Season 15, Episode 6

Karissa
Age: 28
Location: Central Square, New York
Addiction: Heroin

What’s Memorable: Despite her intimidating and manipulative behavior, Karissa is still somehow very likable. It’s not a mystery why she became an addict given her childhood traumas, but it’s clear that if she wasn’t addicted she would be such a cool person to be around. Also: That family diner has such personality, but it was disturbing to me what the non-family employees had to deal with everyday. I mean that’s a borderline abusive working environment, having to be witness to all that and pretend to not be affected.  The idea that Karissa thinks she’s a ‘functional junkie’ because she gets up in the morning to go to work shows how deluded she is about what “functional’ means.  Leaving work to go lie to the doctor in order to get Suboxone and immediately selling it for 10 bags of heroin and then needing people to stay up watching you all night with an overdose kit at hand because they’re afraid you’ve taken too many benzos with your heroin and you might die – that is not functional.  I’m so glad Karissa made it and as of February 2016 is still sober.  She deserves such a better life.

Official Synopsis:  Karissa was always a talented cook – so much so, that her mother had one day hoped to pass the family diner down to her as a legacy. But Karissa’s life took a drastic turn when a close family friend fed her Oxycodone, and then ultimately made her a drug courier. From there Karissa was lost. Now, years of self-abuse, self-medication, and a severe addiction to heroin have left her volatile and desperate. Her family fears that if she does not heal from her violent past and the childhood she lost, she will never have the future she deserves.

Date Aired:  April 2016
Interventionist: Sylvia (who rocked this one)

Season 15, Episode 15

Jonel
Age: 24
Location: Browning, Montana (Blackfeet Indian Reservation)
Addiction: Suboxone

What’s Memorable: The fact that the episode takes place on a reservation.  For one, it’s been a while since we’ve seen anyone profiled who isn’t white. (The racial & cultural diversity on this show is seriously lacking). Second, this episode was a bit of a historical and cultural education about why American Indians have a high rate of addiction and that suboxone is becoming a drug of choice. Third, Jonel’s mother explained that talking about what happens on the reservation to people on the outside is highly discouraged, so for this family to reach out to Intervention and be willing to talk about their family on TV shows how much they love her and need her to get help.  There is a lot of love in this family and it showed. So glad Jonel accepted treatment and stayed there long enough to get solid in her sobriety. That’s just what she needed.

Official Synopsis: Jonel was born into the Blackfeet Indian Tribe in Montana. When she was 9 months pregnant, her boyfriend was tragically killed in a car accident and then she gave birth to her daughter just days after the funeral. Shocked and grief stricken, Jonel began using suboxone and meth – two drugs that are rampant on the reservation. 14 months ago, Jonel gave birth to her second child who was born addicted to suboxone.

Date Aired:  July 2016
Interventionist: Donna

Season 15, Episode 16

Robert
Age: 31
Location: Lamar, South Carolina
Addiction: Crack

Official Synopsis: Rob was already a successful business owner when he inherited over a million dollars and several valuable properties from his father. But after his father’s recent death, Rob, a former crack addict, picked up the pipe again after years of sobriety. In just 12 months, Rob has blown through 200k of his inheritance, has shut down his once thriving business, and now his wife and family fear for his life.

Date Aired:  July 2016
Interventionist: Donna

Season 16, Episode 3

Kathy
Age: 51
Location:  Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Addiction: Crack, alcohol

What’s Memorable: Kathy is obviously a very smart, vibrant, fun, strong woman when she’s not high or trying to get high. She had ROUGH childhood, and adulthood for that matter, so it’s not shocking that she would turn to drugs. But she did so great for a while and her slide from where she once was is so unsettling. Her misery about being who she is right now, while simultaneously demanding to be able to stay that way, is a difficult thing to watch.  I had high hopes for her recovery, too bad it didn’t take. Hopefully she’ll get herself into treatment and get back to being who she really is.

Official Synopsis: Wealthy entrepreneur loses everything to crack, reducing her life to a never ending cycle of prostitution and begging. (Canadian produced.)

Date Aired:  December 2016
Interventionist: Andrew

Season 16, Episode 5

Jordon
Age: 29
Location:  Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Addiction: Meth (injected)

What’s Memorable: The whole weird situation with his sister on a night when he was high was disturbing. I hope he’s made amends for that because it clearly affected his sister Katie, she obviously needs some closure there.  I love that when he got to treatment he was immediately motivated to commit himself to recovery and really make an effort. I love it when they do that! All in all a powerful and heartwarming episode.

Official Synopsis: Handsome, talented musician’s promising career is sideswiped by crystal meth, plunging him into a life of crime, prostitution, and addiction. (Canadian produced.)

Date Aired:  December 2016
Interventionist: Andrew

Season 16, Episode 10

Jasmine
Age: 26
Location:  Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Fentanyl

What’s Memorable: Damn, that followup. She looked so much healthier, it was amazing.

Official Synopsis: Jasmine was extremely close to her grandparents, Reg and Pauline, so when Pauline suddenly passed away, Jasmine couldn’t cope and turned to opioids to erase the pain. Amazingly, Jasmine got control of her addiction and her life gained some new additions: a new career, a new boyfriend and a new baby. But when her relationship became abusive, Jasmine descended back into drugs. After losing custody of her three-year-old son, her use escalated to smoking fentanyl, a habit that costs her $1200 a day. As her family readies themselves for the intervention, they get devastating news: Reg has cancer.

Date Aired:  January 2017
Interventionist: Maureen

Season 19, Episode 4

Shiann
Age: 22
Location: Helena, Montana
Addiction: Meth

What’s Memorable:  I think what I’ll remember most is her saying “This isn’t the person I want to be” right before agreeing to treatment. You could tell it was a powerful moment for her.

Official Synopsis: At the age of 22, Shiann has already faced a lifetime of pain. The shocking death of her sister, a diagnosis of A.S., a progressive and debilitating disease, and an unexpected divorce, sent this once vivacious fitness model and bodybuilder down a path of meth-fueled binges. With no help in sight, her family fears losing another loved one to an early death.

Date Aired: June 2018
Interventionist: Candy

Season 21, Episode 1

Melanie
Age: 25
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Addiction: Crack

Official Synopsis:Melanie was just eight months old when her dad committed suicide. Her mother’s subsequent trauma went untreated, and she struggled raising her three kids. Melanie, the youngest, suffered the most. She began acting out and getting in trouble to gain attention. When she was nine, she was diagnosed and medicated for ADHD. Then, at 14, Melanie was introduced to crack cocaine by an older boyfriend. She was instantly hooked and ended up in rehab at 15. Melanie got clean and turned things around, going back to school and becoming a Personal Support Worker – a vocation that she loved. At 19, shortly after a breakup, Melanie found out she was pregnant and her ex-boyfriend wanted no part of being a father. She loved her son and was a good mother but, four months after giving birth, she became depressed and starting using crack cocaine again. Now, five years later, Melanie is saddled with a severe addiction. Without an intervention, Melanie will lose custody of her son, or worse, lose her life.

Date Aired: July 20, 2020 in US, originally aired as in Intervention Canada episode on October 20, 2018 on CBC Documentary Channel

Interventionist: Andrew

Season 21, Episode 5

Courtney
Age: 25
Location: Kenora, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Hydromorphone and other opiates, meth

Official Synopsis:  An adventurous child with a love for animals, Courtney dreamed of growing up to be a veterinarian. Tragically, when she was just seven years old, her best friend died in a drowning accident and Courtney was never the same. The loss left her closed off and moody. In her teenage years, that moodiness turned to rebellion and she began to experiment with drugs. Today, Courtney no longer cares about her health or safety. Her alarming re-use of dirty needles has taken her to the brink of death. If Courtney doesn’t accept treatment, her life is surely at risk.

What’s Memorable:  Another painful dinner scene. So many painful dinner scenes in this show! The well-intentioned and but egregiously enabling mother. How badly ravaged her body is from the drugs, with flesh eating disease and open sores all over her face. This girl is only 25 years old, it’s tragic how much irreversible damage she has already done to herself.  That intervention was a good one, so disappointing that it didn’t take.

Date Aired: August 17, 2020 in US, aired as Intervention Canada Season 4 in October 2018.

Interventionist: Geri Bermister (She’s pretty good. I like this line: “Remember that you’re not turning you back on her, you’re turning your back on her addiction”).

Season 21, Episode 5

Coleman
Age: 26 or so
Location:  Mission, British Columbia, Canada
Addiction: Fentanyl and Heroin

Official Synopsis:  Coleman grew up with the stigma of having a father in prison. His mother did her best to raise seven children but, as the middle child, Coleman got lost in the mix. Today, Coleman is hopelessly addicted to fentanyl, stealing to support his habit with the help of his opioid-addicted girlfriend, Nikki. The longer his addiction endures, the less chance Coleman has of ever seeing his daughter again, and his family worries his addiction may kill him first.

What’s Memorable:  Shoplifting cheese and steak and selling it to single moms in SUVs. Violently fighting over their haul in the middle of the street. The deep family history of trauma and death. Nikki talking about being shot up by adult men at age 11. (What the hell kind of person shoots up an 11 year old with heroin? So disturbing.). Coleman dropping his needle behind at the intervention and feeling super guilty about it. The very heartwarming followup on both of them. I know that in retrospect they both saw their relationship as very ‘partners in crime’ and highly codependent, which is clearly true, but there were also moments – like when Nikki first sat down at the intervention and Coleman immediately took off his jacket and gave it to her to wear – that gave me the impression that these two have more than just an addiction that bonded them. They seemed to truly care about and love one another despite the ugliness and desperation of their situation. I hope that they were able to remain friends and support one another as they rebuilt their relationships with their children, or if not, that they’ll reconnect some day in the future when they’re both solid in their sobriety.

Date Aired: August 24, 2020 in US, aired as Intervention Canada Season 4 in September 2018.

Interventionist: Maureen Brine

Season 21, Episode 6

Shandon
Age: 25
Location:  Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Addiction: Fentanyl

Official Synopsis:  Shandon’s early life was disrupted at three years old when her parents divorced and her mother moved out of the country. Growing up without a maternal figure, Shandon felt abandoned and became very introverted. In high school, Shandon was badly bullied and she turned to drugs. She began acting out and resisting authority, so her father sent her to live and reconnect with her mother. Shortly after arriving, her mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and died within a year. Sixteen-year-old Shandon returned to live with her father and hid her grief by abusing even harder drugs – heroin, opioids and eventually fentanyl. Now in her mid-twenties and saddled with a $200 a day intravenous habit, she prostitutes herself in order to feed her addiction. Her family is at its wits end and is desperately hoping an intervention will save her life

What’s Memorable:  Yet another scary shooting-up-in-the-bathroom-during-a-tense-family-dinner scene. And an even more harrowing withdrawal desperation scene. Man this girl is SICK, so close to dying. I hope she’s able to find her way back.

Date Aired: August 31, 2020 in US, aired as Intervention Canada Season 4 in September 2018.

Interventionist: Maureen Brine